UN chief says Hamas attacks 'did not happen in vacuum', sparking anger from Israel

UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that attacks by Hamas "did not happen in a vacuum", sparking criticism from Israel's ambassador to the UN.

"The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," Guterres told a session of the UN Security Council.

"They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements, plagued by violence, their economy stifled, their people displaced, and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing."

He added that such grievances could not justify "appalling attacks" by Hamas, and those attacks subsequently could not justify "collective punishment of the Palestinian people" by Israel.

The comments were heavily criticised by Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the UN. 

"The Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner," Erdan wrote on X. 

"His statement that, 'the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,' expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder. It’s really unfathomable," he added. 

"It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views. A tragedy!"